What led to Max Verstappen's subpar Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying? Telemetry data reveals RB21 flaws

The reigning world champ, Max Verstappen, had a terrible qualifying session on Saturday where he finished in seventh place and addressed the struggles he is having with his RB21. Following Verstappen's statement, telemetry data has now revealed the issues that cannot be ignored in the RB21.

The Dutch sensation is currently aiming for his fifth consecutive World Driver's title, and he had a fantastic start to the season, finishing second at the season opener in Melbourne, taking P4 at the Chinese Grand Prix, and then winning fans' and F1 pundits hearts with a scintillating drive at the Japanese Grand Prix, where he secured his first P1 of the season.

But things soon took a weird turn at the Bahrain Grand Prix, where Verstappen seemed to have struggled badly with the car throughout the qualification, and even after trying his absolute best, the Dutchman could only manage to secure P7. After the qualifying, Verstappen also criticized the car, comparing it to extracting the pace of the car "like kicking a wall." Now after Verstappen's harsh critique, new statistical data has emerged revealing the faults in Red Bull's weapon for the 2025 season.

What's wrong with Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda's RB21?

While Max Verstappen will start the race in seventh place, his newly appointed teammate Yuki Tsunoda also had a disappointing qualifying race in Sakhir, where he'll be starting the race in tenth place. Now, here is the big question: What's wrong with Red Bull's new car? Well, as per the latest reports, this might just be the tip of the iceberg, as problems have just started to emerge for the Austrian team.

As per the telemetry data, the car only performs well at a certain operating limit, and once that line is crossed, there you are, in a whirlpool of troubles. But what's influencing these problems in the car is its lack of rear-end grip and persistent understeer in the corners. This might sound like Max Verstappen's forte, but with RB21, even he has struggled to get away with it. 

This all led to McLaren's Oscar Piastri gaining an advantage over Verstappen, particularly in the second and third sectors, and by the end of the race, it all fell apart for Verstappen and Red Bull. With these flaws in place, there are some serious questions raising over how the car will perform on Sunday, whether Max Verstappen would be able to redeem himself from Saturday's disappointment or if it would be the same story. Sit back and relax; we'll figure that out tomorrow.